June 11th releases for DVD and Blu-ray will NOT include the controversial Mouse Cleaning or Casanova Cat cartoons

Posted by David Lambert

2/06/2013

Yesterday we passed along the news from Warner that June 11th will see their releases of Tom and Jerry - Golden Collection Volume 2 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. We knew at the time that there would be 42 remastered cartoons on these 2-disc sets, but we didn't have the actual list of these shorts at the time. Here now is a copy-and-paste of that list, straight from studio sources:

Disc 1

POLKA - DOT PUSS

THE LITTLE ORPHAN

HATCH UP YOUR TROUBLES

HEAVENLY PUSS

THE CAT AND THE MERMOUSE

LOVE THAT PUP

JERRY'S DIARY

TENNIS CHUMPS

LITTLE QUACKER

SATURDAY EVENING PUSS

TEXAS TOM

JERRY AND THE LION

SAFETY SECOND

TOM AND JERRY IN THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

THE FRAMED CAT

CUE BALL CAT

JERRY AND THE GOLDFISH

JERRY'S COUSIN

SLEEPY-TIME TOM

HIS MOUSE FRIDAY

SLICKED-UP PUP

Disc 2

NIT-WITTY KITTY

CAT NAPPING

THE FLYING CAT

THE DUCK DOCTOR

THE TWO MOUSEKETEERS

SMITTEN KITTEN

TRIPLET TROUBLE

LITTLE RUNAWAY

FIT TO BE TIED

PUSH-BUTTON KITTY

CRUISE CAT

THE DOG HOUSE

THE MISSING MOUSE

JERRY AND JUMBO

JOHANN MOUSE

THAT'S MY PUP!

JUST DUCKY

TWO LITTLE INDIANS

LIFE WITH TOM

PUPPY TALE

POSSE CAT

As you know - or as anybody who looks at a list of the Tom & Jerry theatrical shorts which later became the heart of the original TV show for these characters - the Golden Collection Volume 1 sets released in Fall 2011 followed in exact release order of these cartoons. And Volume 2 picks up and continues on with that order...except for two obviously missing items. An omission which has fans screaming in protest.

Going in order, the first cartoon on this set SHOULD have been 1948's "Mouse Cleaning," which belongs before Polka-Dot Puss. Further along on that same disc, 1951's "Casanova Cat" should be found between Cue Ball Cat and Jerry and the Goldfish. Both are absent from the list, and it's not the first time: 2007's DVD release of Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection, Volume 3 skipped these cartoons because of what Warner described as "inappropriate racial stereotypes." In the time since then, fans have told Warner again and again how much they want a COMPLETE archival collection of Tom & Jerry shorts, INCLUDING these two cartoons, and that the studio may label it however they would like to indicate the appropriate historical context, and/or that the release is intended for the adult collector, etc.

And fans had reason to believe that this time, Warner would come through. Back in 2011, when Golden Collection Volume 1 was on the way, it became public knowledge that a new print of Mouse Cleaning had been located, and it was widely reported that the studio was spending money to clean up the footage in order for it to be included on DVD. And if it was on the disc, then there was no reason to believe Casanova Cat wouldn't also be there. Now fans feel cheated, as if a promise has been broken.

This could have been such a great release for Warner Home Video...a bestseller for the ages, and one I was previously planning to buy myself. But even though Warner has shown bravery before about including controversial material, it seems like the studio has chickened out, again, where Tom & Jerry are concerned, and so for my own part I'm personally going to skip this release. Fans who pick it up anyway will no doubt enjoy the great look of the cartoons, and the extras, just like on the previous volume...but no doubt they will feel like something's missing. Also, if I may comment here, it seems obvious to me that if Warner can't find the strength to release these two Tom & Jerry cartoons, when there is much worse already on DVD by them and by other studios, then it is hopeless for Looney Tunes fans to ever expect them to follow through with putting "The Censored 11" on DVD.

Now, I have no knowledge one way or the other about whether that's still in the works or not...but my hopes in that area have been dried up by the knowledge that Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat aren't coming to disc. If they can't do those two, then the other eleven will be far too much for Warner. Or maybe not...maybe this is just all about Tom & Jerry...after all, it was announced last October that the studio is working on a new Tom & Jerry Show series for The Cartoon Network, and maybe they're hoping to avoid bad publicity. But if so, do they stand to gain or lose, by upsetting the tried-and-true fans of the classic show?